System and method for facilitating IP telephony applications

Abstract

A system and method enabling designers to create IP telephony applications without the need for the designers or IP telephone users to understand either the native data format used by the IP telephones or the programming language used to construct the IP telephony applications.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A Software implementation allowing designers to construct IP telephony applications accessible and employable by users of IP telephones or IP telephone emulators, comprising: 
 Software enabling the designers to construct the IP telephony applications by manipulating IP telephony objects on a graphical user interface to create data in a native format used for display of information to the users of the IP telephones or the IP telephone emulators, wherein the designers and the users are not required to understand either the native data format or programming language used to construct the IP telephony applications.    
     
     
         2 . The Software implementation of  claim 1 , wherein each of a plurality of IP telephones has an associated first visual display.  
     
     
         3 . The Software implementation of  claim 2 , wherein the designer constructs the IP telephony application using a second visual display.  
     
     
         4 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the second visual display is associated with a computer of the designer.  
     
     
         5 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the second visual display is associated with a network server.  
     
     
         6 . The Software implementation of  claim 2 , wherein one or more of the IP telephony applications are dynamic, in which information on the first visual display is based on real-time data derived from requests made by the users.  
     
     
         7 . The Software implementation of  claim 2 , wherein one or more of the IP telephony applications are static, in which information on the first visual displays is not based on real-time data derived from requests made by the users.  
     
     
         8 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the second visual display comprises flow diagrams facilitating construction by the designers of the IP telephony applications.  
     
     
         9 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the IP telephony objects are represented by icons, and the second visual display comprises a canvas for dragging and displaying the icons.  
     
     
         10 . The Software implementation of  claim 9 , wherein one or more of the IP telephones includes a graphical user interface comprising a keypad and the first visual display.  
     
     
         11 . The Software implementation of  claim 10 , wherein the Software permits the IP telephone designer to manipulate the graphical user interface to selectively display the IP telephony objects on the canvas without utilizing the programming language.  
     
     
         12 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the second visual display includes a toolbox of the IP telephony objects represented by icons which may be linked together during design of the IP telephony applications, and the second visual displays also provide a toolbar which permits the IP telephony objects to be saved and published.  
     
     
         13 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the second visual display includes a toolbox of the IP telephony objects represented by icons which may be linked together during design of the IP telephony applications, and the second visual displays also provide a menu command which permits the IP telephony objects to be saved and published.  
     
     
         14 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the Software functions on a Windows®-based platform.  
     
     
         15 . The Software implementation of  claim 3 , wherein the Software functions on a non-Windows®-based platform.  
     
     
         16 . The Software implementation of  claim 1 , wherein the native data format is one of the following: XML, HTML or ASCII text.  
     
     
         17 . The Software implementation of  claim 9 , wherein the IP telephony objects are derived from images originating from the Internet and/or from a file system of a computer in communication with one or more of the IP telephones.  
     
     
         18 . The Software implementation of  claim 17 , wherein the Software allows the IP telephone user to dynamically select existing images in various formats and convert the images to a format necessary to allow the user to interpret the information on the first visual display.  
     
     
         19 . The Software implementation of  claim 18 , wherein the formats comprise industry-standard formats such as TIF, GIF, BMP, PNG and/or JPG.  
     
     
         20 . The Software implementation of  claim 1 , wherein the Software allows the designer to create IP telephony objects, as defined by an IP telephony vendor, in the native data format of the IP telephone derived from a local file store.  
     
     
         21 . The Software implementation of  claim 20 , wherein the local file store comprises one or more of the following: text files; spreadsheet files; or word processing files.  
     
     
         22 . The Software implementation of  claim 1 , wherein the Software allows the designer to create IP telephony objects, as defined by an IP Telephony vendor, in the native data format of the IP telephone derived from a network file store.  
     
     
         23 . The Software implementation of  claim 22 , wherein the network file store comprises one or more of the following: text files; spreadsheet files; or word processing files.  
     
     
         24 . The Software implementation of  claim 1 , wherein the Software allows the designer to create IP telephony objects, as defined by an IP telephony vendor, in the native data format of the IP telephone derived from a database.  
     
     
         25 . The Software implementation of  claim 1 , wherein the Software allows the designer to create IP telephony objects, as defined by an IP Telephony vendor, in the native data format of the IP telephone derived from a network data store.  
     
     
         26 . The Software implementation of  claim 1 , wherein the Software allows the designer to create IP telephony objects, as defined by an IP Telephony vendor, in the native data format of the IP telephone derived from directory services.  
     
     
         27 . Software enabling IP telephony applications to be developed from IP telephony objects, permitting users of IP telephones or IP telephone emulators to access and employ the IP telephony applications, comprising: 
 Software enabling the designers to construct the IP telephony applications by manipulating IP telephony objects to create machine-readable data utilized by IP telephones to convey information to the users, wherein the designers and the users are not required to understand the programming language in order to develop and use the IP telephony applications.    
     
     
         28 . A method allowing a designer to construct an IP telephony application accessible and employable by users of IP telephones or IP telephone emulators, comprising the steps of: 
 providing a plurality of the IP telephones or IP telephone emulators with an associated first visual display;    providing the designer with one or more computers having at least a second visual display;    the designer constructing the IP telephony application using Software enabling the designer to visually manipulate elements on a graphical user interface associated with the at least second visual display to create data in a native format used for display of information by the IP telephones to the users;    wherein use of the Software permits the designer to construct the IP telephony application and the users to use an IP telephone or IP telephone emulator running the IP telephony application without the need for either the designer or the users to understand either the native data format used by the IP telephone or IP telephone emulator or programming language used to construct the IP telephony application.    
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the Software permits use of an IP telephony application which is dynamic, such that information on the first visual display is based on real-time data derived from requests made by the users.